Gucci lose top men

Tom Ford and Domenico De Sole are to leave Gucci when their current contracts end in April, 2004. Having rescued Gucci a decade ago when they were close to collapse, they have successfully rebuilt the luxury leathergoods group which includes Yves St Laurent, Sergio Rossi, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, Boucheron, Alexander McQueen and Stella McCartney. The reason for their leaving is the failure to negotiate new contracts which would allow them the freedom to run the company the way they want with PPR, the French retail group which owns 67% of Gucci. As a result PPR shares on the Paris stock exchange fell sharply. Only recently De Sole reported that the group had begun to experience the most significant sales growth seen since the luxury goods recession began on September 11. 2001